Thanksgiving Blues

by David Driscoll-Carignan on Nov 21, 2008 2:44 PM MST in News Comment 24 comments

November 7, 2006. Pepsi Center, Denver. The 7-5-2 Avalanche, coming off of a 3-2 win against Vancouver, welcome the 4-9-3 Los Angeles Kings. The Avalanche play well in the first and have a 2-1 after 20 minutes. And then the lowly Kings score 4 2nd-period goals to chase Jose Theodore and the Avalanche end up losing a game they should have won, 6-5. The dejected Avalanche followed up that 1-goal regulation loss with 3 more - 1-0 to Nashville, 2-1 to Edmonton and 4-3 to San Jose. That 4-game losing streak was one of the low points of the 2006-2007 season.

November 16, 2007. The Avalanche were in first place in the Northwest, having beaten the Wild in a big game the previous Sunday. The confident Avs went in to Dallas...and got slaughtered 6-1 with Jussi Jokinen (4 goals) using Theodore for target practice. The next two games were just as bad, with 4-1 shellacings in Minnesota and Calgary (and none of the three games were even as close as those dismal scores indicate. The Avs had a few losing streaks longer than 3 games last year, but, in my mind, this was their worst play of the season by far. As an added bonus, less than a week after this streak ended, Joe Sakic suffered his "slight groin pull" hernia injury.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner (sorry, Canadian readers), and here we are again. The Avalanche are in the middle of their mid-November swoon. Do they hate turkey? Pilgrims? America? What is it?

There isn't much time to sort it out. The Avalanche play 5 games between this Saturday and next Saturday. With a 3-5 November record, this month is already off to a rough start.

Thankfully, the Avalanche are mostly done with the NW for a while - they have just 2 NW games between now and 2009. Colorado's opponents next week: Los Angeles (11th in their conference), Anaheim (7th), St Louis (last), Phoenix (12th) and Tampa (13th). There are no pushovers in the League of Parity, but these are games that the Avalanche can win.

None of the 5 are in the Top 10 in scoring (Colorado is currently *deep breath* 27th)

LA (21st)
Ana (13th)
Stl (11th)
Pho (25th)
TB (30th)

But several are surprisingly solid defensively (the Avs are 17th)

LA (8th)
Ana (23rd)
Stl (25th)
Pho (7th)
TB (13th)

On paper, these project to be relatively low-scoring games. I feel pretty good about Budaj and the defense right now (we'll probably also see a game or two from Raycroft, which is not so good). If Budaj can keep his team in the game - something he's done in each of the last 6 games - will our forwards finally be able to pull it together and salvage this terrible month? Do it for the turkeys, guys!

Schedule

Next 5 Games

@ Los Angeles	Sat 11/22	8:30 PM MST
@ Anaheim	Mon 11/24	8:00 PM MST
St. Louis	Wed 11/26	7:00 PM MST
@ Phoenix	Fri 11/28	2:00 PM MST
Tampa Bay	Sat 11/29	7:00 PM MST

Last 5 Games

Calgary	Thu 11/20	L 0 - 1
@ Calgary	Tue 11/18	L 1 - 4
@ Edmonton	Sat 11/15	SO - W 3 - 2
@ Vancouver	Wed 11/12	SO - W 2 - 1
Nashville	Sat 11/08	W 1 - 0

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Comments

ahh damn

I’ll miss the game vs. Phoenix since its on in the afternoon and I have to work Black Friday. suck ass!!!

InYoFace Phadouche! InYoFace

by InYoFace on Nov 21, 2008 2:54 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

I'm gonna miss it

Since it’ll be on in the middle of the night. Get your act together NHL. What people can really watch a game in the middle of the day.

"To have arrived on this Earth as a product of a biological accident, only to depart through human arrogance, would be the ultimate irony"
R. Leakey, Origins; 1977
"Two roads divurged in a wood, and I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"
R. Frost

by Savage33 on Nov 21, 2008 3:26 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I used to agree 100%, but this year I moved to an area of PA so dismal that the cable company won’t let me pay $30 a month for NHL center ice because they apparently don’t have a deal with the NHL. Thus I had to get the internet version, which is eh.

The upside is the retarded afternoon games give me something to do at work.

The artist formerly known as ClaudeLemieux

by JonHaven on Nov 21, 2008 4:34 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I can somewhat understand people at work likling them and if it’s a weekend then Ok because you can go to the game and still do stuff at night, but during the week most people that could go to the game would be at work and I can’t see 15,000 odd people all getting days off.

by Savage33 on Nov 21, 2008 8:33 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

ah….well, Friday is a day off for most of Americans as it is the day after Thanksgiving. I can’t believe they aren’t giving you that day off in Perth ;-)

by exredcoat on Nov 21, 2008 9:12 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Makes sense then, Although Aussies don’t get days off after special days. It’s Thanksgiving also a day off or just the day after.

by Savage33 on Nov 21, 2008 10:23 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

Officially Thanksgiving is the only day off, it’s just most companies give the friday off, because Thanksgiving is always on a thursday, and almost no one will come into work friday anyways.

I believe in Peter Budaj

by Jibblescribbits on Nov 21, 2008 10:38 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Exception

The exception to the above statement is retail. Since everyone else is off and X-mas is around the corner, it is known as “Black Friday”and it’s the busiest shopping day of the year, almost all retail employees have to work.

I believe in Peter Budaj

by Jibblescribbits on Nov 21, 2008 10:39 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

And

I think these next 5 games will show us where the Avs may end up at the end of the year. Lose them, here comes a high draft pick. Win them or win a few of them, the Avs will be in that grey fighting for a playoff spot area.

InYoFace Phadouche! InYoFace

by InYoFace on Nov 21, 2008 3:26 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

SWEET

Fighting for mediocrity or all-out suckitude. EXCITING!!!!

I believe in Peter Budaj

by Jibblescribbits on Nov 21, 2008 3:53 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I just hope

The Avs have a plan that they have been keeping secret. (Why they are keeping it secret, I don’t know). I just want to know that the Avs have a plan for the future, not just this treading-water type of BS.

InYoFace Phadouche! InYoFace

by InYoFace on Nov 21, 2008 4:00 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

The only acceptable plan

In the next game against the Wild: Brunette takes the puck and inexplicably trys to stuff the puck past Backstrom while running him over in the process. Then he gets up, tears off his wild Uni revealing an Avs unipron as the crowd goes wild (no pun). He then takes the wild jersey and ties it (loosely) around and Unconscious Backstrom’s neck… While FG sits in his box marveling at his masterful plan.

I believe in Peter Budaj

by Jibblescribbits on Nov 21, 2008 10:42 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

That’s totally going to happen.

Go Avs! Let's get some goals!

by Joe @ MHH on Nov 22, 2008 7:34 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Odds

I think there’s an 80-80% chance or so.

I believe in Peter Budaj

by Jibblescribbits on Nov 22, 2008 11:05 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Does it look

like the Avs have a plan of any kind at all?
No secret plan. No public plan. No plan.

by Pookie on Nov 21, 2008 10:44 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm very sad to point this out

But it reminds me of the last couple years of the Leafs. They were in the grey area of sucking, they gave up on that this year and are trying to rebuild.

by Drakenlot on Nov 23, 2008 12:48 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

it’s hard to root against your team, but the avs need another superstar center to play alongside Stastny. The 1-2 punch of 2 good scoring lines is incredibly important, and we’re seeing right now that a single good scoring line can be shut down. I don’t think anyone doubts that the RPM line is still capable of tearing it up, but they’re seeing all out defensive efforts from the rest of the league because they know if they shut that one line down, the Avs have nothing.

So, basically, Tavares plz.

by thedoctor on Nov 21, 2008 4:18 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I have a feeling that the Avs are incapable of losing so much that hey actually get the number 1 pic (unless maybe they make Raycroft the #1 goalie…I think that would do the trick). Fortunately there should be some decent players available somewhere around 6-10 (ie. your team sucked and missed the playoffs, but failed even at sucking successfully). I’d be pretty happy with Schroeder from MN Gophers….it doesn’t hurt that he has chemistry with another Avs prospect (Stoa).

by exredcoat on Nov 21, 2008 9:18 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Avs

Avs are tied for 3rd to last in the league right now, and that’s with Budaj playing over his head (yeah a .960 Save % or whatever he has over the last 6 games is high, he’ll cool off at soem point.) If they don’t get these scoring issues fixed, the lottery is a possibility

I believe in Peter Budaj

by Jibblescribbits on Nov 21, 2008 10:45 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Returning from a brief hiatus

just in time for draft talk!

Assuming we lose enough games to slide into the lottery, the 3 guys I would be happy with are Tavares (obviously), Victor Hedman (I don’t care that he plays defense, the guy is a freaking stud), and Brayden Schenn (little brother of Toronto’s Luke Schenn, but a forward). Of course, to get any of those three, we’re probablu going to need to be in the top 4 picks, heh. A few notches below the elite prospects this year rest guys like the aforementioned Schroeder, whose hockey IQ is what’s to love the most about him (and his size is the scary part). Other prospects include a guy like Matt Duchene (who I love be because elite skaters are so much fun to watch) and someone like Nazem Kadri, who plays with a nasty streak while possessing good skills and a decent hockey IQ.

That being said, I’m damn glad we didn’t give Columbus this year’s first-round pick.

by SlamDunkTheFunk on Nov 22, 2008 10:09 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I was wondering where you were, game threads have been so much shorter without you. Also for the record i’m gonna be calling you Bubblegum Tate because it’s easir to say and the guys awesome.

by Savage33 on Nov 22, 2008 7:01 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs